Deck plate and locking mechanism



April 2, 1988 J; M. BUSUTT'L 8,87s,812

DECK PLATE AND LOCKING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 24, -1966 z z' f' 3? 5 48 4751 T3 INVENTOR. T1. E. w Jose-m M. 80807774 United States Patent O3,375,612 DECK PLATE AND LOCKING MECHANISM Joseph M. Busuttil, Jamaica,N.Y. (45-22 Pearson St., Long Island City, N.Y. 11101) Filed Jan. 24,1966, Ser. No. 522,682 4 Claims. (Cl. 49-465) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREThe deck plate comprises a disc-shaped memb-er having a gasket forsealing against the deck. A rotatable screw is threaded into the hub ofa clamping member with spokes sliding in the slots of the guides to gripthe deck of a ship between the tips of the spokes and the overlappingperipheral portion of the disc-sh'aped member. The slots and lockingmember have lengths to perrnit a wide spacing between the spoke tip andthe peripheral portion for in-sertion of the deck plate into theopening.

Background o invention This invention relates to deck plates, and isdirected particularly to the locking mechanism for holding the deckplate in place over a scuttle in a deck or tank.

On Ships openings or scuttles are provided in the deck for access to thehold of a ship or tanks for oil and the like. The openings or scuttlesare covered and sealed by deck plates which fit over the scuttles andare locked in place to the deck of the ship. Such deck plates andlocking mechanisms must be easily mounted and seal the hold or tank fromsalt water. The deck plate also must be quickly and easily fitted in theopening and locked in the desired place to exclude water and otherforeign matter from passing through the Scuttle.

It is highly desirable to have the top of the deck plate clear ofprojections and substantially flush with the deck. The locking mechanismshould be on the underside of the deck plate and mounted so thatseparated locking parts do not drop intothe tanks or holds.

Summary of the invention The deck plate is unobst'ructed and fiat on thetop to fit su'bstantially even with the deck and has a single piececlamping member with spokes slidably mounted in closed slots to be movedby a threaded member over a wide range for permitting the deck plate tobe inserted in the opening with the clamping member attached to thedisc-shaped member so as to move a wide distance in relation to the deckplate for easy insertion and fastening in an opening.

An object of the invention is to provide a flush type deck plate that iseasily fastened over a scuttle by a locking mechanism having partsseparately held from dropping below the deck.

Another object of the invention is to provide a deck plate that iseasily fastened in place by a locking mechanism without linkages.

Another object of the invention is to provide a deck plate with anattached locking mechanism that is simple and inexpensivelymanufactured.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from' the followingdescription taken in connection with the drawings.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a top view of the deck platecovering the scuttle in the deck;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the deck plate taken along lines 2 2 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an underside view of the deck plate illustrat- Patented Apr.2,, 19 68 ICC Brief description o the preerred embodimelzt Referring tothe drawings, a deck plate 10 With a locking mechanism 11 isillustrated. The deck plate 10 comprises a disc-shaped or platelikemember 12 having a diameter greater than the diameter of the opening 13formed by the circular edge 14 of the deck. The member 12 has aperipheral deck overlapping portion 12a. A continuous circular groove 15extends around the undersurface of the deck plate at a slightly lesserdiameter than the disc member 12 and greater than the edge 14. A gasket16 of suitable Shape and resilient material is mounted in the groove toseal against the deck 17.

At the center of the deck plate is a cylindrical opening 18 extendingthrough the boss 19. The opening is formed by cylindrical walls 20, 21having a shoulder 22 therebetween. A locking screw 23 fits in theopening and has a head 24 and threaded portion 25. The head 24 has arectangular shaped socket 26 for receiving a correspondingly shapedwrench (not shown) to turn the locking screw. The outer or upper end ofthe head has a fiange 27 which fits in the cylindrical wall 20 to recessthe head 24 and seats against the shoulder 22 to prevent the lockingscrew from passing through the deck plate. Below the flange a groove 28is provided for an O-ring 29 to form a seal between the wall and thehead. The head 24 is longer than the thickness of the boss 19 in whichthe opening 18 is former and thus extends through the disc member. Aretaining ring 30 fits over the end of the projecting portion of thehead and set screws 31 thread into the ring and engage the head torotata'bly fasten the locking screw to the deck plate. A clamping member32 has a hub 36 and three spokes or projecting members 33, 34, 35extending radially therefrom at degrees between one another. The spokesextend a distance from the center in the order of the radius of the discmember 12 and prefe-rably at least equal to the radius of groove 15.

The hu'b 36 has a threaded opening or hole 37 for receiving the threadedportion 2'5 of the locking screw and centering the clamp in relation tothe deck plate. Three -shaped guides 38, 39, 40 are uniformly positionedaround the underside of the deck plate and extend normal the-reto. Theguides have two legs 38a, b, 39a, b, 40a, b spaced to form slots 386,39a, 40c extending normal to the deck plate. The spokes fit through theslots and are guided by the legs. The legs prevent the clamping memberfrom rotating when the locking screw is rotated.

The ends of the legs are spanned by straps 41, 42, 43 fastened to thelegs by bolts. The straps close the lower end of the slots to preventthe clamping member from separating from the deck plate if the screwbecomes unthreaded. On the inner surface of the deck plate are radiallyextending projections 44, 45, 46 having outwardly facing surfaces 44a,45a, 46a radially within and adjacent to the gasket for centering thedeck plate in the Scuttle. The clamping member moves to and from thedisc-shaped member 12 over a wide range from a minimal distance A to amaximum distance B (FIG. 5) which is several times in length the minimaldistance.

For insertion and removal of the deck plate, finger grips 47, 48 areprovided in the deck plate by openings 49, 50 on opposite sides of thevlocking screw. Rectangularshaped cup portions 51, 52 are on theunderside of the deck plate to form pockets or chambers '53, 54 toreceive a tool or fingers. The cup portions are larger than the openingto form catches 55, 56 for engagement.

The plate is readily inserted into the opening or Scuttle by threadingthe clamping member 32 to space it from the disc member 12. The deckplate is then tilted and rested along a portion of the edge on the uppersurface of the deck 17. The deck plate is then swung into position Withthe radial members fitting 'below the deck. The plate is automaticallycentered 'by the surface 44a, 45a, 46a. The

locking screw 23 is rotated to draw the clamping member 32 firmlyagainst the underside of the deck to lock it in place. The pressuredistorts the O-ring 16 and creates a watertight seal.

It is thus seen from the foregoing that the deck plate is made fromparts which are interlocked and cannot be separated without removal ofparts. All linkages are eliminated while still securing the advantage ofthe locking mechanism being on the underside of the deck plate. Further,the main parts are easily cast as single pieces and fitted together in asimple and inexpensive manner.

The embodiment illustrated in the drawings is shown in proportion to theactual deck plate.

It is, of course, understood that modifications may be made in theforegoing embodiment without departing from the scope of the inventionas set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A deck plate for closing an opening in a deck comprising a platelikemember having outer and inner surfaces and a peripheral deck overlappingportion, a first threaded member rotatably mounted in said platelikemember in axially substantially fixed relation therewith and dependingfrom said inner surface, stop members fixedly mounted on said innersurface of said platelike member radially spaced from said firstthreaded member, said stop members having slots extending from saidinner surface between said threaded member and said peripheraloverlapping portion, a clamping member having a second threaded membercomplementary to said first threaded member and in threaded relationtherewith, said clamping member having radially projecting members inrigid relation with said second threaded member to form holding -meanswith said platelike member and having gripping tips forming spaces withsaid overlapping portion for gripping a deck, said projecting membersfitting in said slots to prevent any substantial turning of saidclamping member with said first threaded member, strap means on theopposite end of said stop members from said inner surface to close saidslots and prevent complete separation of said clamping 'and platelikemembers, said first threaded member and said slots having lengthsseveral times a respective gripping space between said gripping tips andsaid overlapping portion to permit said clamping member to captivelymove to and from said inner surface over a wide range for insertion intoan opening in a deck.

2. A deck plate as set forth in claim 1 wherein said platelike memberhas a circular edge and a circular groove formed radially in' saidoverlapping portion to form a seal with a deck.

3. A deck plate for closing an opening in a deck comprising a circulardisc-shapedimember having outer and inner surfaces and a peripheral deckoverlapping portion with a continuous circumferential gasket means onsaid inner surface for sealing against a deck, a boss at the center ofsaid disc-shaped member and having an opening extending therethrough, alooking member having a head rotatably mounted in said opening and saidboss and having a threaded portion extending from said headperpendicnlarly to said disc-shaped member, at least three guidespositioned around said disc-shaped member and extending perpendicularlytherefrom and positioned between said boss and said gasket means, saidguides having generally U shaped forming slots opening at the oppositeend from said disc-shaped member, a rigid clamping member having acentral hub and at least three spokes formed as a single rigid piecewith said hub and said hub having a threaded opening therethrough forreceiving said threaded portion of said looking member, said spokesextending radially and fitting in said slots of said guides to blockrelative rotation of said clamping member and said disc-shaped memberand extending radially therebeyond to overlap with said deck overlappingportions to form a gripping lspace-between said spOkes and discshapedmember on threading of said clamping member and said disc-shaped membertogether against a deck, straps fastened to the end of said guides atthe opposite end from said disc-shaped member closing said slot openingsto prevent the separation of said clamping member and said disc-shapedmember, said threaded portion of said locking member and said slots ofsaid guides having a length several times the gripping space lbetweensaid spokes and said disc-shaped member to permit said clamping memberto captively move to and from said inner surface over a wide range forinsertion into an opening in a deck and threading into looking relationwith a deck.

4. A deck. plate as set forth in claim 3 wherein centering projectionsare provided on said inner surface radially within and adjacent to saidgasket means for positioning said disc-shaped member in a deck openingand for engagement by said spokes to form a minimum gripping space.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 822,562 6/1906 Tucker 49-465 X3,084,827 4/1963 Dyer i 220-25 3,194,427 7/1965 Mullett et al 220-25FOREIGN PATENTS 580,536 8/1958 Italy.

KENNETH DOWNEY. Primary Examinen

